White right back

Alex White’s last trip to the cage ended in victory and a strange one at that.

A video of White putting the finishing touches on Roy Babcock at August’s Titan FC 23 show spread throughout MMA message boards and was even a segment on AXS TV’s ‘Inside MMA.’ In it, White lands two powerful right hands while in Babcock’s guard. Babcock is visibly knocked out yet the referee had not stopped the fight. White held his hands out to his side, as if to ask, ‘What more do you want me to do?’ White then reluctantly threw a couple of half-hearted attempts before the fight was stopped in the second round. The ref in question, Rusty Sullivan, received an avalanche of backlash from fans and media. White, on the other hand, was given kudos by all for knowing when to stop even though the referee didn’t.

On Friday, White will put his undefeated record on the line in the co-main event at Journey to the Top 3 held at the Heart of St. Charles. White (7-0) faces Iowa’s Will Shutt, he of the 40-plus professional bouts on his resume, at a catchweight bout of 149-pounds.

“(Shutt) is a bit of a gatekeeper but we can’t sleep on him,” White’s coach, Destruction MMA’s Joe Worden said. “Alex has everything to lose. You should never underestimate another fighter but I don’t know if (Shutt) has the hunger.”

The 28-year-old Shutt is based out of Des Moines, Iowa. He “fell” into the sport and after just a handful of ammy fights, plunged into the deep waters of the pro grind, going 16-18-1.

“About three or four years ago I watched (White) fight in Iowa as an ammy,” Shutt said. “I’m sure he’s well-rounded. I want to take fights against guys that are good and I want to test my standup against him.”

If Shutt can survive the first two rounds look for his fighter’s savvy to take over in order to pull off the upset.

“The biggest advantage I see it that I have a lot of time in the cage and there isn’t anything he can throw at me that I haven’t seen,” Shutt said. “He is still young and he hasn’t experienced all of it.”

A win for White (7-0) would be his third of the year and second under the CFE banner. In April, he and Adam Ward put together a Fight of the Year-worthy performance with White winning a narrow, split decision.

In the Babcock fight, aside to White’s approach out of the gate, the Destruction MMA crew couldn’t have been happier.

“That was a good fight, Babcock is crafty,” Worden said. “We knew after the first round that he was breaking. Once we got out of that submission attempt in the second round, which Babcock had locked in pretty tight, it was ours.”

Warden says the game plan is to get another victory and possibly idle the engine for the rest of the year, letting White take in the holidays without the added stressors of a fight.

“Alex has fought some tough guys in a row,” Worden said. “We went through a lot of guys trying to get this fight and (Shutt) was the only one to step up.”

MMASF Presents: Journey to the Top 3
Friday, November 1st
Heart of St. Charles - St. Charles, MO

Brady Hovermale vs Jimmy Donahue -- Main Event
Will Shutt vs Alex White -- Co-Main
Ken Porter vs Dan O'Connor
Corey Barreiro vs Hugh Pulley
Malshon Ball vs Wil Alfaro

Brian Klenc vs Nick Sanders
Anthony Boyd vs Micha Sensel
Tre Crawford vs Dillan Schreiter
Irfan Mulabitinovic vs D J Jones
Matt Murphy vs Cody Winistoefer

Photo courtesy of MMA Sport Federation